FiTeq Technologies announced the launch of "the first payment card that incorporates an approved EMV payment applet in combination with the FiTeq Energizer Stripe enabling a unique cryptogram (FiTeq Transaction Specific Code) to be created within the magnetic stripe data packet for each transaction."

ReadWriteWeb has a nice summary of new technology that turns a webcam into a card reader.

Payments company Jumio is today launching a new technology called Netswipe that turns any webcam into a credit card reader, both on the desktop and on mobile. The service aims to bridge the convenience of online and mobile shopping with the security inherent in face-to-face transactions. It also makes it incredibly easy to shop — you just hold up your credit card in front of your webcam to complete the transaction.

MasterCard, Symantec and NagraID Security have teamed up to introduce the MasterCard “Display Card”, which brings strong authentication functionality to payment cards to the U.S.

Recently piloted and launched in Europe and Asia, the 'Display Card' complements existing card security features through the use of Symantec’s VeriSign® Identity Protection (VIP) Authentication Service and NagraID Security card technology.

Dynamics Inc, a startup just emerging from stealth mode, has announced Card 2.0 -- a paper-thin, flexible computing platform in a payment card form factor. The device includes the Electronic Stripe -- the world’s first fully card-programmable magnetic stripe -- can be read at any existing POS magnetic stripe reader. The device itself can change any bit of information on this programmable stripe at any given time.

Here's photo of the multi-function card. READ MORE »

MasterCard Europe has unveiled a next generation debit card - with the first roll-out of a new display payment card.  According to the company, "Turkish bank TEB, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, will be the first issuer to bring the display card to consumers with a Maestro® eCommerce authentication programme that kicks off in July across Turkey, with new features to be added onto the card in the near future. The UK's Newcastle Building Society has also committed to the first pilot of the balance display functionality later this year." READ MORE »

Gemalto has announced it has been selected by the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) to deliver the first U.S. issued, globally compliant microprocessor payment card. According to the company, "UNFCU recognized the need of their members, who reside and frequently travel to more than 210 countries and territories, to have a more convenient and secure payment option when traveling internationally. Partnering with Gemalto, UNFCU will be able to provide a globally compliant Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) standard-based Dynamic Data Authentication (DDA) contact and contactless dual interface card that can be used anytime – anywhere their members travel. UNFCU anticipates introducing the program in the second half of 2010." READ MORE »

An international consortium of payment and wireless industry leaders have announced their participation in a field trial being conducted by Banka Koper to bring SIM-based NFC mobile payments to Slovenia. CASSIS International, INSIDE Contactless, Sagem Orga and Sagem Wireless, in cooperation with Mobitel, the leading mobile service provider in Slovenia, have provided Banka Koper with the payment infrastructure and applications for this trial, which will run through June 2010. READ MORE »

Gemalto has introduced the World Traveler program, a globally accepted dual interface EMV payment microprocessor card and complete issuance service for U.S. banks and card issuers. According to the company: "With most countries around the world moving to EMV-based payment for greater security, U.S. travelers are increasingly having trouble using magnetic stripe bankcards abroad, especially in offline applications like unattended ticketing/payment kiosks. Gemalto’s new World Traveler program allows any U.S. issuer to provide cards to their customers in under two months, ensuring secure and hassle-free payments while traveling internationally and at home." READ MORE »

Smart card manufacturers Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) and Oberthur Technologies, and chip suppliers Infineon Technologies AG and INSIDE Contactless have announced the launch of an industry initiative to provide "a new security solution for next-generation smart card based public transport applications. The solution will build on an open standard now being implemented by the four partner companies, which will eventually be governed by an independent body. Companies active in the smart card arena - providers of chips, smart cards, application-specific operating software, reader devices and transportation systems - are invited to join the initiative for the advancement of more secure public transportation applications." READ MORE »

EMV/chip technology will be the topic of a January 2010 webinar from the Smart Card Alliance, featuring speakers from Aite Group, Bank of Nova Scotia, KeyPoint Consulting and Visa on the reasons behind the global migration to this technology, and the possibilities for U.S. adoption.

The free educational webinar, "Top 10 Reasons for Considering EMV in the U.S," will take place on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time/10:00 a.m. Pacific time. To register, please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-events-top-ten-reasons-us-should-consider-emv. READ MORE »

GlobalPlatform has announced the launch of the GlobalPlatform Card Networked Framework v1.0. According to GlobalPlatform, "the technical document - which can be downloaded at http://www.globalplatform.org/specificationscard.asp - introduces new concepts that will allow GlobalPlatform cards to support a sophisticated networked environment." The GlobalPlatform Card Networked Framework v1.0 will be of particular interest to mobile network operators as many of their networks are IP based and there is a long-term requirement to upgrade to 4G networks and capabilities. READ MORE »

MasterCard has announced the availability of M/Chip Advance, a payment platform takes traditional debit, credit and prepaid chip cards to the next level by advancing payment functionality, facilitating deployment of contactless applications and integrating information needed for business applications such as transit and loyalty. The result according to MasterCard: "the potential to deliver versatile, multi-functional payment capabilities to consumers on one payment card." READ MORE »

Aconite has announced that it will collaborate with Ecebs Limited to develop and deliver a smart card that combines transport ticketing and payment capabilities with other services. According to the company, "he combination of Aconite’s back-office smart card administration and transaction processing software with Ecebs’ software for developing on-card applications will provide a unique end-to-end solution for managing smart card products, individual smart cards and their applications." READ MORE »

Gemalto has launched the world’s first bio-sourced degradable smart cards. According to the company, "the card body is made from renewable material, is easily recyclable and compostable, and can be incinerated without emissions of toxic fumes. Additionally, Gemalto offers packaging made from recycled paper and vegetable inks that significantly reduce the product’s environmental impact. Gemalto’s bio-sourced smart cards will be ready for mass production in the first quarter of 2010." READ MORE »

New findings announced by Moneris Solutions, Canada's largest payment processor, reveal that "merchants who process chip card transactions are experiencing fewer chargebacks than ever before due to increased security and fraud detection. This is the first data of its kind from Canada and demonstrates that chip cards reduce fraud and chargebacks." READ MORE »

DeviceFidelity has announced the availability of In2Pay, a microSD-based solution that "transforms any mobile phone with an available memory card slot into an interactive contactless transaction device. Compatible with near field communication (NFC) technology, In2Pay is now available for trials with banks, wireless carriers and payment networks, with volume production for commercial deployments in 2010. DeviceFidelity has signed evaluation agreements with some of the largest card issuers in the U.S. and will be demonstrating In2Pay at Cartes 2009." READ MORE »

INSIDE Contactless has announced that it is providing critical infrastructure components to Taggo, a membership card aggregator and storefront, for the new service Taggo will launch in Singapore and other parts of South East Asia early next year. Using ID stickers based on INSIDE's PicoPass(r) 2KS contactless memory chip, contactless readers based on INSIDE's M210-2G proximity coupler and INSIDE's integration and adoption services, Taggo has developed a way for mobile phone stickers to replace plastic loyalty and membership cards from a variety of retail merchants. READ MORE »

Oberthur Technologies has announced Smart Lumiere, a light-emitting contactless card that emits light when it is entered in the field of a contactless reader to inform the cardholder when a transaction is taking place. READ MORE »

We recently had an email from a long-time Visa colleague of ours that brought back memories of some of the early work that Visa did on smart cards back in the late 1980's-early 1990's. The most famous of those was the Visa Super Smart Card.

Paul Steger runs a web site that collects lots of information about Visa (and Mondex) smart cards - for us that's like a trip down memory lane!

The Smart Card Alliance has released a new white paper titled "Fraud in the U.S. Payments Industry: Fraud Mitigation and Prevention Measures in Use and Chip Card Technology Impact on Fraud" developed by its Contactless and Mobile Payments Council.

"Criminals are known to exploit the weakest link in a payments infrastructure. With issuers in the rest of the world moving to EMV, it is likely that criminals are going to move counterfeit card activities to the U.S., attacking both U.S. and international issuers," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "If the United States wants to avoid an incoming tide of higher loss, the industry must be willing and able to make investments in emerging technologies." READ MORE »

QSecure has announced it has received $10 Million in Series D funding from Worldview Technology Partners, Allegis Capital, UMC Capital, and Société Générale to continue development of its powered payment card technologies. READ MORE »

In an article titled "For Americans, Plastic Buys Less Abroad", Michelle Higgins writes for the New York Times about how US-issued magnetic stripe credit cards lack a chip that is increasingly required at unattended POS locations in countries overseas. Higgins writes that "as more countries around the world move to chip-and-PIN cards, it’s inevitable that Americans will encounter more difficulties paying for things abroad."

Dynamics Inc., a provider of next-generation payment cards, has announced that it has closed an initial $5.7 million Series A round of financing led by Adams Capital Management. Joel Adams, founder and general partner of Adams Capital Management, is joining the Dynamics Inc. board of directors.

Dynamics produces "a paper-thin, flexible computer platform that can be utilized in a variety of applications such as next-generation payment cards. Dynamics has invented the world's first fully programmable magnetic stripe that can be read at any existing Point-of-Sale (POS) magnetic stripe reader. The card itself can change any bit of information on this programmable stripe at any given time. The technology does not require any change to the 60 million 1970s-era magnetic stripe readers or re-education of its merchant base." READ MORE »

The Smart Card Alliance has published a new position paper titled “End-to-End Encryption and Chip Cards in the U.S. Payments Industry" that "proposes an alternative to end-to-end encryption, protecting cardholder data by using chip card technology, but in a different way than has been considered in the past."

Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, said "In our paper we discuss a different approach optimized for the U.S. payment market: using contactless chip cards, including a dynamic cryptogram with each transaction and authorizing transactions online. This stands in sharp contrast to previous considerations of implementing 'chip and PIN' based on the full EMV standard. Instead, this proposal builds on what is already happening in the U.S. -- the issuance and merchant acceptance of contactless cards -- while keeping in step with globally interoperable EMV standards." READ MORE »

INSIDE Contactless and Cryptography Research have announced an agreement regarding the use of CRI’s patents covering countermeasures to Differential Power Analysis (DPA) and related attacks for INSIDE’s MicroPass and other secure semiconductor products. Under the agreement, INSIDE may use CRI's patents as part of the security strategy for its contactless semiconductor products which are used around the world in a variety of form factors – including contactless cards, key fobs, mobile payment bridge products, and NFC secure elements for mobile phones – for use in applications such as contactless payment, loyalty, identification, transit and access control. READ MORE »

In an article titled "U.S. magnetic stripe credit cards on brink of extinction?", Beverly Harzog writes for CreditCards.com about the potential effects of a ban on mag stripe cards being considered by the European Payments Council.

Harzog takes a comprehensive look at the implications of such a move on US card issuers and their cardholders traveling to Europe - as well as exploring whether the US will eventually need to move from mag stripe-based cards to the Chip and PIN technology deployed in Europe and, increasingly, in other markets around the world.

U.S. Bank has announced that it is "the first card issuer in the United States to add Visa payWave technology to an unembossed debit card that is issued instantly to an account holder upon opening an account. The instant-issue Visa payWave pilot is being tested at select U.S. Bank branches in Denver and Salt Lake City as part of U.S. Bank’s on-going innovation in payments." READ MORE »

In an article titled "Brigham Young University to test new NFC microSD solution", Sarah Clark writes for Near-Field Communications World about RFinity, an Idaho Falls-based startup that has developed technology to use an NFC application embedded in a microSD card that "enables a secure one-time token to be generated each time a transaction takes place and ensures that a user's credit card details never need to be transmitted, even in an encrypted form."

Canada's Interac Association has announced a partnership with INSIDE Contactless, the world leader in open-standard contactless chip technologies to develop chips containing the specifications for INTERAC’s contactless payment service. According to the companies, this partnership will enable Interac Association and its members to offer their debit card users a “next generation” retail payments solution. READ MORE »

The Smart Payment Association (SPA), a group of the industry's largest manufacturers of payment smart cards, has announced findings from its 2008 market monitoring activity - undertaken in order to get a better understanding of the current status of the payment smart card market and its key trends.

"A lot of industries were severely affected by the financial crisis. Despite a slowdown in the SPA payment smart card shipments at the end of 2008, the smart card manufacturers are not as heavily impacted as others can be", said Marie-Jane Denis, President of the Smart Payment Association. "High volumes continue to be shipped around the world and a majority of regions carry on their migration to EMV standards." READ MORE »